Manchester United:
England’s most consistently successful team in terms of winning the league most times. Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992 United have won it a staggering twelve times. A recent controversial change in ownership has seen the world’s richest team plunged heavily into debt though and shares launched on NYSE are not doing well. But the team always seems to do well.
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson, a canny Scot if ever there was one.
Top players: England’s big hope Wayne Rooney and the flying Dutchman Robin van Persie.
Famous fans: All of Asia, or so it seems, as well as Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall who even named his band after the team.
Manchester City:
Manchester’s other team, long in the shadow of United but they’ve also had a recent change in ownership followed by big spending to procure an influx of top talent. Enough to win the Premiership last year snatching it from their cross town rivals United.
Manager: Roberto Mancini.
Top players: Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli who can really make sparks fly, last year he set his house on fire by lighting fireworks in his bathroom.
Famous fans: Boxer Ricky Hatton and sometimes boxers and Oasis frontmen Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Arsenal:
One of six London teams currently playing in the Premier League, Arsenal named after a former London munitions factory have won it on three occasions.
Manager: Arsene Wenger and with a name like that who else could he manage ?
Top players: Gervinho, Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby and Olivier Giroud
Famous fans: Moviemaker Michael Moore, Prince Harry and although he doesn’t attend many games now Osama bin Laden.
Liverpool:
A powerhouse of the seventies they’ve struggled to find form as of late. Always a potent threat though. Follow them and you’ll never walk alone.
Manager: Brendan Rodgers in his first season on Merseyside after working wonders at Swansea.
Top players: Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard.
Famous fans: Sporty Spicegirl Mel C and rapper Dr. Dre.
Everton:
The other team from Liverpool and one of the original twelve teams who formed the first football league back in 1888.
Manager: David Moyes.
Top players: Phil Neville and Belgian Marouane Fellaini who’s hard to miss, he’s 6’- 4” tall and his hair is even bigger.
Famous fans: Sylvester Stallone and Paul McCartney.
Chelsea:
Another of the powerful rich London teams the Blues are a three time winner of the Premier League and currently up near the top again, but can they keep it up ?.
Manager: Roberto DiMatteo.
Top players: Fernando Torres, John Terry and Frank Lampard.
Famous fans: London Olympic honcho Seb Coe and movie star Michael Caine.
Aston Villa:
This Birmingham team is also one of the founding members of the football league in 1888 Manager: Paul Lambert
Top players: Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Famous fans: Tom Hanks, Amy Winehouse and the prince of darkness himself Ozzie Osbourne.
Southampton:
The team from the south coast city that launched the Titanic on its maiden voyage is nicknamed “The Saints”.
Manager: Nigel Adkins.
Top players: Steven Davis, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez, affectionately known as “J Rod”.
Famous fans: Coldplay drummer Will Champion.
Swansea:
The only non-English team playing in the English Premier League, Swansea, the pride of Wales are currently doing very well.
Manager: Michael Laudrup.
Top players: Danny Graham and Miguel Michu.
Famous fans: Catherine Zeta Jones.
Newcastle United:
The team is nicknamed the “Magpies” and its fans the “Toon Army” always a force to be reckoned with.
Manager: Alan Pardew.
Top players: Demba Ba and Hatem Ben-Arfa.
Famous fans: Tony Blair, Sting and Mark Knopfler.
Sunderland:
The other team from the north east who were founded as the Sunderland and District Teachers Association Football Club. Home stadium is the Stadium of Light.
Manager: Martin O’Neill.
Top players: Steven Fletcher and Louis Saha.
Famous fans: Sugar Ray Leonard and Paul McCartney’s ex Heather Mills.
Queens Park Rangers:
Another London team who play in blue and white hoops at Loftus Road in the north west part of the city.
Manager: Mark Hughes, or “Sparky” to the fans.
Top players: Bobby Zamora, Djibril Cisse and Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Famous fans: Sex Pistol Glen Matlock and Mick Jones of the Clash.
Stoke City:
Another original member of the football league this team from the Potteries was formed in 1863 making them the oldest team in the Premier League.
Manager: Tony Pulis.
Top players: Peter Crouch and Michael Owen.
Famous fans: Unfortunately no one I’d heard of.
Wigan:
The youngest team in the Premier League was founded as late as 1932 and took until 1978 to gain admittance to the football league.
Manager: Roberto Martinez.
Top players: Franco Di Santo and Mauro Boselli. Famous fans: Mikhail Gorbachev.
Norwich:
The Canaries, pride of East Anglia.
Manager: Chris Hughton.
Top players: Grant Holt, Robert Snodgrass and the Premier Leagues’ only Canadian player Simeon Jackson.
Famous fans: Actor Hugh Jackman and comedian Stephen Fry.
Reading:
Now nicknamed the “Royals” after the royal county of Berkshire they used to be called the “Biscuitmen” after the biscuit factory in town.
Manager: Brian McDermott.
Top players: Adam Le Fondre and Pavel Pogrebnyak.
Famous fans: Actress Kate Winslett and Tubular Bell man Mike Oldfield.
Tottenham Hotspurs:
Or just “Spurs” for short, their Latin motto is audere est facere, to dare is to do.
Manager: Andre Villas Boas..
Top players: Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor.
Famous fans: Baby Spicegirl Emma Bunton and Salman Rushdie.
Fulham:
London’s oldest team in the Premier League is owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed who also owns Harrods.
Manager: Martin Jol. Top players: Damien Duff, Mladen Petric and Dimitar Berbatov
Famous fans: Hugh Grant and Pierce Brosnan, yes it’s 007’s team.
West Ham United:
Nicknamed the Hammers after the local iron works, listen carefully and hear the fans singing their anthem “I’m forever blowing bubbles”.
Manager: “Big Sam” Allardyce.
Top players: Ricardo Vaz Te and Andy Carroll.
Famous fans: John Cleese, Russell Brand and boxer Lennox Lewis.
West Bromich Albion:
Nicknamed the “Baggies” their fans have a curious habit of celebrating goals by jumping up and down whilst chanting “Boing, Boing”. Another one of the original twelve founding football league teams.
Manager: Steve Clark.
Top players: Peter Odemwingie and Shane Long.
Famous fans: Eric Clapton and Rolling Stone Ron Wood.
A word of warning though, remember most games are played on Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm. That’s British time, which will be 9:00am Saturday morning in Winnipeg. So you may have to curtail that late night partying on Friday nights. It’s not easy being an armchair athlete !